Mary Jane joined the staff of St. Mark's Nursery School in 1971, and discovered her passion for working with young children. Under her tenure as director the program blossomed.

Like Fred Rogers and Bev Boss, she was a fierce believer in advocating for child-centered programming and was an early supporter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In 1990 the school became NAEYC accredited, which it remains today. Her strong belief in supporting the youngest in our community led to the creation of many events such as Getting Ready for Christmas, Young at Art, BubbleFest, and Science Alive. She also inspired and collaborated with others on the development of an early childhood area for WonderLab.

Mary Jane facilitated many lab schools, parent outreach programs, and taught early childhood students at Indiana University. But she would say her greatest achievement was getting to watch so many children grow and discover the world.

Making St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten available to all was of the upmost importance to Mary Jane. To support this vision, she created the scholarship fund, which was renamed in her honor upon her death in 2018.

Trina joined the staff of St. Mark's Nursery School in 1992, and served as a teacher here for 27 years, before retiring in 2017. She was a graduate of Otterbein College, where she earned a degree in Early Childhood Education. Later she pursued postgraduate work in children’s reading development at Ohio State University.

Trina embraced the philosophy and practice of play-based early childhood education. She nurtured children in developing relationships, exploring areas of interest, and discovering the world around them. It was common to find Trina cooking with children in the kitchen, and joining them close to the ground as they learned about the natural world by looking closely at plants, insects, rabbits, worms and other visitors to the play yards. Trina coordinated trips off-site, from outdoor adventures to museums at IU.

Trina embraced and celebrated the diversity of families and children. She, too, wanted St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten to be available to all families. Sadly, in January of 2021, Trina died suddenly of a heart attack. As a way to honor her and celebrate her life, Trina’s family asked that memorial gifts go to the St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten Scholarship Fund.